


The Selection Process

by DemetraRoseRiddle



Series: The Elechiis Series [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Selection Series - Kiera Cass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, F/M, M/M, Prince Derek Hale, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-03-31 11:19:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13973991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemetraRoseRiddle/pseuds/DemetraRoseRiddle
Summary: Stiles and his father are struggling, they have been sine the day John Stilinski got shot a few years ago. Working at a coffee shop whilst trying to get his art career off the ground isn`t exactly paying the bills and putting food on the table. So, when the chance to compete for prince Derek’s heart, who is he to say no?





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So, this is my first fic in a long time and i just wanted to say that I hope you guys enjoy! I`ve only published the first chapter because i want to see the response this gets before posting more, so, if you like it, make sure to love it :)
> 
> Enjoy x
> 
> Disclaimer: I do no own teenwolf or The Selection series, those ideas and the characters belong to their rightful owners. I`m just using them to make fanfiction.

The letter's lying on the door mat when Stiles finally makes it home from his latest shift at the Three Moons Coffee Shop. The teen stomps straight into the living room, getting a muddy foot print on the envelope on his way there; It hadn’t been a good day. Firstly, an old lady had shouted at him three times for things that were out of his control and then the new intern had managed to tip a whole carton of milk over him, meaning he had to borrow uniform from the spares box. Not a pleasant experience. After dumping his bag, he returns to the mat, picking up the post for the day and ripping open the envelope addressed to him. He completely misses the mud-covered crest of the country on the front as he prays that it isn’t another bill from the heating company. The letter flutters in his hands once Stiles has read the first few lines. This could change everything.

_Dear Mieczyslaw Stilinski,_

_Due to a recent census we have information which suggests that you`re between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. This means you`re eligible to take part in the Selection Process; A random lottery from the whole country where thirty one men or women have the chance to win the hand and the heart of our beloved Prince Derek. The participants will be housed at the Hale Palace for the duration of their stay. The families of each participant will be generously compensated for their service to the royal family. If you`re interested in the chance to become the bride or groom of Prince Derek, simply fill out the forms attached to this letter and hand them in at your local Selection Station within the two-week time frame._

Stiles reads it twice, his hands shaking. This was a game changer. Compensated. The word stood out to him as if it was glowing bright red. By entering the competition, he could provide for his family. As a five, only three up from the bottom caste…money was kinda everything. They could finally stop worrying about whether electricity or heating was more important when the budget was stretched tight. Right then, it didn’t matter to Stiles that there were probably a million-other people entering because this was his chance to make things right.

The caste system, in Stiles’ mind anyway, was shitty. To put it simply anyway. In total, there were eight castes with one being the Royal family (the richest) and eight (the unemployed and homeless) was at the bottom. Fives consisted of the emergency services: firemen, police and nurses which to him, should be closer to the top because honestly, those people save lives. Sevens and sixes did the ‘dirty work’ with sevens being servants, builders and cleaners and sixes doing farm and agricultural work. Fours and three had it better. Fours were generally artists and small business owners such as restaurants where as threes were teachers, authors, vets (again stupid) and pilots. Finally, there are the twos, consisting of models, actors, doctors, surgeons, popstars and those in the army or guarding the royal palace. Thankfully, your caste wasn’t decided until the age of twenty, when most people had a full-time job otherwise Stiles would have definitely been a six.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When his father finally came home from his night out with his friends from the station, Stiles didn’t even give him a chance to take his boots off before he was thrusting the letter into his hands. He hovers near by his father, reading the letter over his shoulder whilst he waited anxiously. Once he had finished reading, the sheriff looked at him with a confused expression, never in his life would he have thought that Stiles would want to sign up for the Selection Process, much less seem excited about it.

“Stiles?” The sheriff asks with a raised eyebrow.

“This could be great for us” Stiles starts, a smile beginning to form on his face. “Think about it, I`d get to meet the prince and thirty new people whilst being paid to socialise and smile at a few cameras, plus I'd have time off work” He rambles as his smile grows as he speaks.

“Son, I`m really not sure…”

“Generously compensated” Stiles reminds him as he wiggles his eyebrows. “And who knows, I probably won’t even get picked so what’s the harm in applying?” He adds, trying to sweeten the deal.

When the sheriff sighs and looks over the letter again, Stiles knows he`s won. With a grin he snatches the letter out of his dads’ hands and heads over to the kitchen table to start working on his forms. They ask for general things such as his height, weight, how many languages he can speak (3, including English), his hobbies and level of education. Easy. It only takes an hour before Stiles is finished, tucking the forms back into their envelope and sticking it on the fridge with a magnet. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he lost them now, not after all the work he put into filling them out. With a last look at the envelope Stiles heads up to bed. Whether he’s handing in the forms or not, he still has a nine-hour shift starting at 11am that he needs to be awake for. He has the intern to train after all. For the first time in months Stiles falls asleep relatively easily, a content grin stretched across his face.

Finally, something feels right.


	2. Picture? What Picture?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles hands in his forms; otherwise known as the gamble of his lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So sorry about the delay with this chapter (I know I`ve been promising it forever) but here it is! I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> -DRR

The alarm goes off at 8am the next morning and despite how many times he presses snooze, Stiles knows he has to get up eventually. With a groan, he drags himself out of bed and into the shower to try and wake himself up. Today is gonna be a long day. He showers quickly, not only is the water far too cold for this time of year, but he also has to try and find where he slung his apron in his excitement last night and with the state of his bedroom he really needs to factor in some time for the hunt. The apron, turns out to be relatively easy to find, his shirt however? Not so much. After throwing everything from the floor on to the bed, Stiles finally comes up triumphant. The pleased grin lingering on his face as he pulls on his favourite jeans and his orange and blue striped shirt, followed by his favourite red hoodie before he stuffs his uniform into his bag. He hasn’t got time for folding..

Stiles makes a beeline for the kitchen, firstly swiping the loaf of bread and putting two slices in the toaster before he snags the orange juice and takes a swig right from the bottle. As he waits, his eyes drift to the forms that are still lying in the envelope that he`d pinned to the fridge the night before. ‘This is going to work’ Stiles tells himself firmly as he grabs the slices of toast, hastily dumping them on the table when they burn his fingers. His dad, who had appeared in the doorway at just the right time to watch Stiles fumble with his far too hot breakfast simply chuckles at him, not even asking about his now burnt fingers. Its rather rude in his opinion and he tells his dad just that. John Stilinski just laughs at him again before heading out to work, ruffling Stiles’ already messy hair before leaving. 

Stiles keeps his eyes on the clock. He saw the queues to hand in the forms yesterday and there`s no way in hell he can be late for work. The seconds tick by slowly as he moodily chews on his dry toast, thinking about having to deal with the intern again. With a loud sigh Stiles hauls himself out of the chair, forcing himself to grab his lunch from the fridge before shoving it in his bag. After wiping his hands on his jeans, he grabs the envelope before carefully placing it on top of his uniform, his fingers brushing over his address that has been elegantly printed on the front. He steels himself before picking up his bag, locking the door and heading out into the world. It was only 9am and the streets were already teaming with people. The area Stiles lived in wasn’t what you`d call a wealthy area but everyone seemed to have really dressed up for the occasion- girls were wearing their best dresses, their faces covered in make-up, whilst the guys were decked out in shirts and dress pants. It was more than obvious to see which castes everyone was from; those a three or higher were wearing top of the range dresses and they had clearly had their hair professionally styled whilst the rest of them were wearing suits either a little too small or too big, dresses with small holes or fraying…there was even one girl with wellies one…she had to be a six but still, her face was clean and she even had a touch of lip gloss on. Had he missed something? A sudden grasp of his shoulder had him spinning round quick as a flash. Stiles sighed in relief as his eyes landed on the petite red head that stood before him. 

“God Lacey! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He exclaims, pressing his hand against his chest for dramatic affect. The ginger chuckles before brushing a perfectly curled strand of hair out of her face. Stiles had known Lacey since birth, their moms had been friends (they`d both been music teachers at Beacon Hills high) so naturally they were too and in all those nineteen years, she always managed to sneak up on him. Every. Single. Time. 

“What are you doing here?” She asks curiously, looking him over as if she was waiting for the answer to magically appear. With a grin, Stiles retrieves the envelope from his back and waves it in front of her face as if it had been obvious all along. 

“Didn’t think you`d enter” She comments without skipping a beat as she glances at the envelope in his hands. Stiles just shrugs, he has his reason and they weren’t good enough to share. 

“You look good” He tells her after a beat of silence, apparently him wanting to enter had been a surprise to everyone, not just his dad and everyone seemed to want to know why. Lacey smiles down at herself, smoothing out the fabric of her light green dress. 

“I wanted to look good for the picture” She explains looking back up at him. Stiles freezes. Picture? What Picture?!Nobody had mentioned a picture! Lacey sighs at the look on his face. 

“It`s alright, at least you look better than Cecily Wilson” She offers with a giggle as a brunette about their age comes storming past, her face caked in make-up and her rather revealing red dress in covered in mud. Stiles stifles a laugh as the girl in question shoots them a glare, it was nice to see her finally get what she deserved. Stiles is still sniggered when he reaches the front of the line. Before he can register it, the camera is flashing, snapping a picture of his face. Oh god. Stiles hoped that it only caught his smile and not the awful way his face scrunched up when he laughs. 

With a shake of his head he drops of the form to the rather board looking station manager before he heads off to work. It was already half ten, the line really had been longer than he had expected. Stiles really was glad he had gotten up so early. On his way to work, all he could hear was gossip about the selection; How good-looking Prince Derek was, whether the palace was as nice on the inside as it was on the outside, what was Prince Derek like? That last one was especially popular because he always looked so serious. In Stiles’ opinion, he`d always looked rather grumpy. With a roll of his eyes he plugged in his earphones to avoid listening to anymore frivolous chatter about the upcoming Selection. Everyone still had two weeks to enter and even then, the lottery still had to take place. It was going to take at least another two weeks before the Selected would be announced. No point getting so worked up about it. Chances are, no body on the bus would be selected anyway.   
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Stiles thankfully made it to work on time. Despite it breaking down and a rather frail looking old lady taking far too long to count her change, he was dressed and clocked in for 10:58. He made his way to the register, using his swipe card to sign in before he started taking orders. Luckily, the intern didn’t start until two meaning Stiles was spillage free until then. The happiness however, was short lived. After only twenty minutes of the shift from hell, his manager decided to make an appearance. Bobby Finstock was an interesting man, he didn’t really care who you were unless you were doing screwing up the job. If Stiles was really being honest the man never really left his office, choosing instead to watch reruns of this old werewolf movie and fill out endless amounts of paperwork. Stiles grimaced as the man in question made a beeline for him.

“Bilinski!” He demanded as Stiles finished serving the last customer in the queue. 

“Yeah Coach?” Stiles asked trying to stave off the urge to roll his eyes. Finstock had been a high school lacrosse teacher back in the day and he refused to be called anything but Coach. 

“I need your review on that new intern” He demand, grabbing a straw from the jar and examining it. The slightly crazy man (in Stiles’ opinion anyway) glared at it as if it had personally offended his family before placing it back in the jar. 

“I need to know whether we`re keeping him or I need to start hiring again. Its going to get busy in here especially when we start showing the Selection” He informs Stiles with a grin before clapping him on the shoulder. 

“You`ve got till next month” Finstock adds before he`s spinning on his heel, muttering about the cable guy as he heads back to his office. Stiles just shakes his head, great, now he`s got a report to write. As if he didn’t have enough to do. 

Its ten minutes till the end of his surprisingly quiet shift when one of the regulars comes in. Stiles grins as he walks up to the counter, his hair a complete mess and a scarf wrapped tightly round his neck to try and stave of the last of the cold weather. 

“Hey Scotty, how you doing man?” He asks as he begins preparing Scott`s usual, completely ignoring the intern who tries to help (clearly, he`s been informed of the report Stiles is writing) as he keeps up conversation with his favourite customer.

“Pretty good, mum practically forced me to enter this Selection business” Scott tells him with a roll of his eyes as he leans against the counter and unwraps his scarf, he`ll end up staying long after his drink is made so might as well get comfotable. Stiles snorts at the thought of his dad trying to force him into entering, he`d have a war on his hands.  
“I dropped off my forms this morning” Stiles replies, keeping his reasons for entering to himself as he hands Scott his large Americano with whipped cream and a pump of salted caramel. Scott grins right back at him as he pays.

“So glad I`m not alone in this thing” He says, looking a little relieved now that Stiles has revealed he`s entering.

“Scott buddy, everyone in this whole country has entered, you wouldn’t be alone if Derek looked like a toad, with the green skin and warts and everything” Stiles tells him with a laugh before handing the change to Scott, who as usual, puts it straight in the tip jar. 

The two of them talk until Stiles’ shift finally ends, thankfully without being covered in milk or any other liquid for that matter. After Scott promises to wait for him as he reties his scarf around his neck, Stiles darts into the team room to grab his bag, not even bothering to change out of his uniform. Scott raised his eyebrows at the hoodie.

“Do you ever wear anything else?” He asks as they walk to the bus stop, Scott`s hands still firmly wrapped around his cooling coffee. 

“You don’t mess with perfection” Stiles informs him, quickly checking the timetable. Only five more minutes of waiting out in the cold. God did he love it when his shifts worked with the buses. The other just rolls his eyes.

“You know we should meet up, not just chat after or during your shift” Scott says after a beat, turning to look at the other. 

“Sure man, here, let me give you my number and you can text me when you`re free. We could totally go to yours and play on the new games you got for your birthday” Stiles hedges with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a grin as he types his number into Scott`s phone before sending himself a quick text. 

They chatted for a few more minutes before Stiles’ bus arrived. It was a shame Scott lived on the other side of town, if they had lived closer together, Stiles just knew that they would have been the best of friends. With practiced ease, he shuffled past a group of teenage girls we ho were trying to get a child’s tickets, to swipe his bus pass before taking a seat near the back. Even now, all he could hear was talk about the Selection. Stiles really hoped it died down soon, he wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take. Instantly, he plugged in his earphone (ignoring the sense of Deja vu) as he began the grueling bus ride home.


	3. The Selection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now, ladies and gentlemen; The Selection

Tonight, is the night. The Selection chatter had finally died down – after all, it had been three weeks and pretty much the whole country had entered. What else was there to day? The country had been completely calm until last Saturday when it had been announced on ‘The Relay’ that after the news report, the winner of the Selection would be announced. The Relay was broadcasted every Saturday night and was the countries news system where once a week, Queen Talia, her brother; Duke Peter (and as of recent) and Prince Derek would read out the news for the current week. It wasn’t mandatory to watch The Relay, but nobody missed it. Even those would couldn’t afford a TV were welcomed into neighbouring churches to watch. Stiles could only imagine how crowded it was going to be for this week’s showing. However, right now it was only the Monday and the week dragged for Stiles, it was filled with endless shifts at the Three Moons, worrying about the cost of his jeep and far too much talk about who was going to be chosen, as if they had a say in the mater. 

When Saturday finally rolled around, Stiles almost missed it entirely. He`d just come off a double shift because surprise, surprise, the intern had called in sick. Again. It was beginning to get ridiculous and instead of writing that stupid report, he went to tell Finstock exactly what he thought of the new intern. Thankfully, he wasn’t going to be around much longer. The teen plopped himself in front of the TV and switched over to the Relay channel. After all, there was only an half an hour to go and that wasn`t nearly enough time to start a movie. 

25 minutes later, that’s exactly where John Stilinski found his son; sprawled out on the sofa, his mouth hanging open as slept, snoring softly. With a fond smile, he gently shook his son awake, chuckling slightly as Stiles’ bemused expression as he seats himself in ‘his’ armchair. As the national anthem for the country starts playing quietly in the background, Stiles sits up, rubbing at his eyes as he does so. It takes only a few seconds for him to remember why he had fallen asleep on the sofa instead of his bed. It was only two minutes till showtime. 

The screen flared to life, displaying the wonderfully dressed Talia Hale standing front and centre, holding a stack of papers whilst looking as composed as ever, her brother standing at her shoulder. Peter Hale had never taken over from Talia after her husband had died, something the whole country loved him even more for it. He may not have become the king but he was certainly present in their life. Peter had become the Duke of their country and Talia`s adviser; taking over some of the responsibilities such as organizing their army or well…some other important things…he doesn’t really pay attention to politics and royalty when it isn’t mentioned on the Relay. Both wore stoic expressions and Stiles couldn`t help but roll his eyes; It wasn’t like her son was going to be seeing the pictures of his potential wife tonight. Talia opens with the serious stuff, clearly wanting to get it out of the way so tonight can end on a high. It only takes a few minutes to discuss recent events; The war with France, the talk of ever going threats from rebels and to stay safe in these troubling times. Finally, she`s whisked off stage and the countries favourite presenter, Braeden Mercher, moves into the spot light.

“Good evening to all those eagerly watching at home and a very special good evening to you Derek. How are you feeling tonight?” She asks with a questioning smile as she leans in, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“I`m alright, perhaps a little nervous. After all, I am going to end up marrying one of the Selected, but I believe my primary emotion is excitement” Derek responds, his face void of any emotion at all. Stiles can’t help but snort as the phrase ‘cool as a cucumber’ springs to mind. Braeden simply nods understandingly before switching to the next question.

“So, Derek” She presses, her grin growing as she surveys him. “Have you seen any of the Selected yet?” Braeden asks, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“A few, A few” Derek says vaguely. “I wanted to be just as surprised as the rest of the country” He admits with a small smile, as if its not something he should be doing. Stiles has to admit that smiling looks good on him. Braeden claps her hands together excitedly.

“Well, lets get to it then!” She declared as a small box appears in the corner of their screen.

“Firstly, we have Jackson Whittmore” Braeden calls as a picture of Jackson flashes on the screen. The name rings a bell and Stiles is left wondering why; The man on screen is stunning. With sharp cheekbones and perfectly styled hair, Jackson Whittmore could easily be a model. Before Stiles can contemplate on him anymore, another face is appearing on the screen. 

Lydia Martin is the definition of beauty, Stiles thinks ruefully. Perhaps this lottery isn’t all that random and the higher ups at the palace have just picked people that look good on a postage stamp. As if her beauty isn’t enough, apparently Lydia can speak three languages, loves advanced maths and physics and has relatives in France. Half the country is probably already rooting for her. 

When Danny Mahealoni`s picture pops up on the screen, Stiles is sold on that idea. He crosses his arms over his chest and grumbled about the Prince choosing people who are aesthetically pleasing, and in Lydia’s case, can apparently out smart them all. Stiles wonders why he even bothered to enter this stupid competition anyway.

“No way! No fricking way!” Stiles yells as his name appears on the screen accompanied with the picture they took of him. His brown eyes stay fixed on the screen, not looking away for a second as he stares at the picture. He has to admit it’s a good photo, his eyes are open and looking at the camera and theres a bright smile stretched out on his face. Thank god he had been laughing, there would have been no way in hell that it would have been a good picture if he wasn’t. Stiles’ gaze doesn’t leave his picture, not when his dad takes in a sharp breath, not when the phone rings, not even when his information is long gone off the screen and they’re moving onto the next person.

“Holy shit” Stiles says eventually, blinking rapidly as he turns to face his dad who seems to be stuck in a similar trance. 

“Oh my god dad” Stiles say a little louder, running both hands through his hair as his dad finally looks at him.

“I made it… I made it!” Stiles practically shouts, a grin forming on his as the realisation hits him. His enthusiasm is what snaps the sheriff out of his trance like state. The elder Stilinski stands and instantly pulls Stiles into a hug, clutching at him tightly. Stiles isn`t sure how long they stay wrapped up together as the phone rings constantly and the rest of the contestants are being announced. In the end, it’s the phone that causes them to break apart. Stiles instantly snatches it off the hook and presses it to his ear, only to hurriedly pull it away a moment after when a high-pitched scream comes from the other end.

“Ohmygoshohmygosh Stiles! I can’t believe you’re one of the Selected!” Lacey squeals excitedly, not even giving him a chance to speak before she carries on.

“I can’t believe that you`re going to meet Prince Derek! And you’re going to stay in the place and learn how to be royalty Stiles! Oh my god! I can’t believe this is happening!” Lacey rambles excitedly as Stiles just stands there, phone pressed to his ear as the enormity of being one of the Selected sinks in because this sort of thing doesn’t happen to people like him. Not in a million years but he certainly isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Their chance has come, and Stiles is going to try his hardest to stay in this competition as long as possible.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The phone literally doesn’t stop ringing. Ever. Its so bad that his dad threatens to disconnect the phone for the day. Ever since he become one of the Selected it seems like everyone that has ever spoken to him wants to congratulate him or tries to work their way into his good books, so they can leap into fame with him. Sometimes it both and either way, its starting to get annoying.

After a day or two of officially becoming one of the Selected, Stiles starts to realise that he’s got a fair amount of shit to do. Firstly, he calls Finstock (who of course didn’t even realise that it was him that had been selected) and informs him that he won`t be in work for a few months. ‘Coach’ grudgingly agrees to save his job for him until his return as long as he mentions the coffee shop. Stiles has no choice but to reluctantly agree. Secondly, he`s got to decide what he wants to take with him. When he woke up the day after the lottery a familiar envelope was resting on the doormat. It was a rather large package that had explained what his life was going to be like for the next few moths and apparently, he was going to get all his clothes made for him for his time at the palace – clothes he could keep! So, he ends up with a small bag containing some boxes, a pair of jeans and a flannel, along with his favourite red hoodie that he couldn’t even consider leaving home without, even if all he’s going to be wearing for the next few months are shirts and dress pants.

Since his picture had appeared on screen, there had been officials of all sorts at their house. Despite he dad being the sheriff, they were still visited by an Army official just to make site that their home was safe, there was the pre-mentioned wardrobe fitter, a doctor and a very perk woman called Silvia who asked if there was anything he needed, Twice. And finally, there was Stiles least favourite visitor. 

He had arrived two days before Stiles was set to leave. The man was tall, had horrendously greasy hair and introduced himself as Mr Harris. Stiles immediately disliked him. 

“Good evening Mr Stilinski” He opened with an oily voice as he inspected the room with a look of disdain on his face. “I`m here to go over the official rules of The Selection with you. Firstly, you`re now considered the property of the country and you must take care of your body from here on out.” Harris stream rolled, not giving anyone a chance to speak.

“I have several forms for you to sign as we go through the information. Failure to comply with result in immediate removal from the selection. Do you understand?” Stiles had simply nodded in response, his eyes wide as he took everything in. That was until Harris had raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.  
“Yeah. Yes. I understand” Stiles spoke, hastily changing his ‘yeah’ to a ‘yes’ at another look from Harris. 

“After looking at your current caste, income against any remaining bills, it has been suggested by the medical team that your diet may lack nutrition, therefore you will take one of these each day” Harris explained, pushing a rather large bottle of vitamins toward him along with the necessary form to sign which simply stated he had received them. 

“I also have your physical from our doctor – nothing much to worry about there. Apart from the fact that you haven’t been sleeping well?” Harris presses, looking up from his sheets to gaze at Stiles, clearly expecting an answer.

“It um, just with the excitement of the whole thing. Its been a little hard to sleep, you know?” Stiles partially lied. Since the…incident it had been hard to sleep when there were nightmares right around the corner. 

“I see, well the doctor sent some sleeping aids if you would like to give them a try?” 

“No, it`s fine. I don’t- “

“Yes, he`ll take them” John interrupts. “I`m sorry kiddo but you look exhausted” he says firmly as Harris pulls out the pills and the accompanying form. 

“Now, I know this is a personal question, but I need conformation that you are, in fact, a virgin?” Harris asks with a look that suggests he loved asking this question. Embarrassing contestants was clearly a perk of the job. 

"Of course, I am! I know the rules for entering” Stiles replies firmly, ignoring the blush on his face as he defends himself. 

“Consider, if you are found to be lying…”

“For god sake, Stiles hasn’t even had a boyfriend!” John tells Harris firmly as he folds his arms across his chest. Stiles nods quickly, his dad had tossed him a line and he was going to hold on to it for all he was worth. 

“Very good” Harris replies after a beat, seeming to decide that neither of them are lying. “I just need you to sign this form to confirm your statement” Stiles can’t help but role his eyes as the form is passed over, but never the less, he signs it, more than ready to be done with this. 

“Now, I need to go over the rules with you, they`re very straightforward and you shouldn’t have a hard time complying . If you have any questions, just speak up” Harris once again looked up from his stack, making eye contact with Stiles.

“I will” Stiles mumbles in response as he settles down to listen.

“You cannot leave the palace of your own accord; the Prince has to dismiss you. Not even the queen can force you out. Queen Talia or the Duke may tell the Prince that they don’t approve of you, but he makes every decision about who stays and leaves. There is no timeline for the selection, it can be over in a matter of days or it can stretch into years. However, the latter is unlikely. This is a good time to Prince Derek to show his decisiveness.” Harris reassures at the look of concern on Stiles’ face. They may need the money and The Selection is the easiest way to get it, but it doesn’t mean he wants to be away from his dad for years. 

“You do not arrange your time with the prince. He will seek you out for one to one company if he wants it. If you are in a larger social setting and he is present, that is of course different. But you do not go to him without invitation. Whilst no one expects you to get along with the other thirty-four contestants, you`re not to fight with them or sabotage them. If you are found laying a hand on another contestant, causing them harm, stress, stealing from the or doing anything that may diminish their personal relationship with the prince, it is in his hands whether to dismiss you on the spot.“ Stiles nodded as Harris paused to look at him, making sure that he was taking in all the information. 

“Your only romantic relationship will be with Prince Derek. If you`re found writing love notes or are caught in a relationship with someone who is not the Prince, it is considered treason and is punishable by death. If you are found breaking any of the written laws, you will receive the punishment that is tied to the offence. Your status as one of the Selected does not put you above the law. You must not wear any clothes or eat nay food that isn’t provided for you by the palace. This is a security issue that will be strictly enforced” Well, there goes his chance for wearing his jeans or a flannel. 

“On Saturdays, you will be present for The Relay broadcasts. On occasion, but always with warning, there will be cameras or photographers present in the palace and you will be courteous and allow them to see your lifestyle with the prince. For each week you stay at the palace, your family will be compensated. I will give you the first check before I leave” Stiles perked up at that, he hadn’t even made it to the palace and they were getting paid already? This really was the best decision he had ever made.

“Should you be dismissed from the palace, for whatever reason, an aid will assist you with final preparations before leaving and entering the place. They will also help you seek new employment and potentially housing afterward as your caste, from that point onward will be a two. Should you be fortunate enough to make it to the top ten, you will be considered as part of the Elite. Once you reach that status, you will be required to learn about the inner workings of the life and obligations you will have as a prince. You are not permitted to seek out such details until then. Should you win, you and your family become members of the royal family and you will marry Prince Derek and become the crowned Prince and take on all the rights and responsibilities of the title. Do you understand?”

“Yes” Stiles responds instantly despite the thoughts running through his head. Become a Prince? Him?! He hadn’t even considered the possibility! It wasn’t like he was going to make it to the end anyway. Not with people like Lydia and Danny in the competition. 

“Very good, if you could just sign the form saying that you have heard all of the official rules and Mr Stilinski, if you could sign the form that states that you have received your check” Harris says sliding the appropriate forms over. Stiles didn’t get to see the sum but by the look on his dad’s face, it was a lot. Harris finally collected all of the forms and after thanking them for their time, asked Stiles to walk him out. With a confused glance at his father, who had simply shrugged and turned away (presumably to place the check somewhere safe) Stiles was doing as he was asked, leading Harris down the short hallway to the door. 

“One last thing” Harris said with his hand on the door and the same look on his face as before. “This isn’t exactly a rule, but it would be unwise for you to ignore it. When you are invited to do something with Prince Derek, you do not refuse. No matter what it is. Dinner, outings, kissing -more than kissing – anything. Don’t turn him down”. Stiles gaped at him for a moment before he recovered his voice.

“Excuse me?!” Stiles demanded, looking shocked.

“I know it sounds…unbecoming. But it would not be wise to reject the Prince under any circumstances. Good evening Mr Stilinski” Harris says before exiting the house and heading towards his car. Stiles still looks disgusted a few minutes after Harris had left, the rules for entering were that you had to start and remain a virgin until the end of the competition. Apparently, the Prince was above the rules. Stiles headed back into the house, choosing to make dinner to get rid of the disgusting feeling that was churning in his stomach at Harris’ advice.


	4. Nope. No Makeup for Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finally makes it to the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I promise that this fic hasn't been abandoned! 
> 
> I just realised (for those who have read the books) that I`m going to need a caste system, Peter needs a bigger role anndd I needed a lot more characters. So, after many moons of fiddling about; here`s the next chapter!
> 
> Sadly, it doesn't include my favourite scene because this chapter is long enough :)

When Stiles awoke two days after the visit from Harris, he dressed himself in the prechosen outfit for the Selected: Black dress pants which was accompanied by a white shirt with the town crest sewn over the pocket. The shoes however, Stiles got to choose; without a second thought he picked up his favourite pair of worn, red converse and pulled them on to his feet- might as well make it clear that he wasn’t prince material, after all, it wasn’t like he wanted to win this thing. But before Stiles could leave for the capital, there was going to be some sort of ceremony at the town square to give the selected a big send off, which, if Stiles was going to be honest with himself, he really wasn’t looking forward to his because the whole town was going to be there… like the WHOLE town! That was a lot of people to be watching him, even if they along the rest of the country were going to watch him on TV, at least Stiles could pretend it wasn’t happening. 

By far the worst part of the whole (is surprisingly not the fear of falling on his face in front of a huge crowd) is having to say goodbye to his dad for an extended period. The night before they had both decided to say their goodbyes before the ceremony, just in case there wasn’t time, or they weren’t allowed to afterwards. His dad had pulled him in for a tight, lingering hug in which he told Stiles how proud of him he was and how much he was going to miss him whilst he was gone. Emotional displays were not what the Stilinski men were known for. Of course, Stiles knew his dad loved him, it went without saying but right now those words meant the world to him..

Once they made it to the ceremony, and by made it, Stiles meant being driven the ten-minute walk to the town square for ‘safety reasons. Stiles couldn’t help but think that this whole ‘safety thing was going to get old real soon. As it turned out, Stiles was the only one representing Beacon Hills as the Mayor told the crowd proudly. 

“And Beacon Hills will be cheering on the son of our very own sheriff, Stiles Stilinski!” 

Without looking away from the Mayor, Stiles made his way on stage, thankfully without falling flat on his face like he had imagined. When the cheering started, Stiles couldn’t help but smile and hold his head high, even going as far as waving to the crowd when he finally made it up the steepest steps know to man. His eyes scanned the crowd and instantly locked onto Lacey who was holding up a large sign that read: ‘Stiles the Future Prince’ dotted with a few hearts and crowns. The girl in question blew him a kiss before his eyes continued to sweep across the rest of the crowd. When they reached /him/, Stiles wished that he had stayed focused on Lacey. Stiles felt his stomach churn at the sight of the bastard grinning up at him, but he quickly made the decision to not let that little cockroach ruin his day. In response, Stiles made his smile bugger and brighter as he waved once more to the adoring crowds. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in sending off Stiles, our favourite Selected!” The mayor announced before a small band began playing and a fair few flowers were thrown on stage by those on the front few rows. 

“Would you like to say something Stiles?” the mayor asked, suddenly appearing behind him. The first word that comes to mind is; No. No, he wasn’t ready to say a few words but how could he say without sounding rude. It only took him a few seconds for him to come to a decision. 

“Thanks, but I`m so overwhelmed that I don’t think I could” Stiles responds easily causing the mayor to nod understandingly and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Of course. Don’t worry, I`ll take care of everything. They’ll train you for this kind of thing at the palace.” The mayor says sympathetically. Stiles simply smiles once more as he watches the mayor turn back to the still cheering crowds, moving on to tell them about all of Stiles’ attributes, mentioning how smart and well rounded his is; making him the perfect choice for the prince. 

The mayor eventually wrapped up and the crowd cheered once more as Stiles gave them a final smile before he was ushered off the stage. Thankfully, unlike he had previously worried, there was time to say goodbye. Somehow Lacey was waiting for him next to his father (not that he was sure how she had gotten there) and quickly dragged him into a hug the second his foot left the steps leading off the stage. 

“I`m going to miss you Stiles. Don’t go making too much of a fool of yourself out there okay?” She teased she pulled back and ran her fingers through his hair. “I won’t, as long as you don’t get into too much trouble without me” Stiles replied with a fond look and a wiggle of his eyebrows. Lacey pressed a final kiss to his cheek before moving out of the way, so his father could get to him. The elder Stilinski seemed to copy Lacey as he too pulled Stiles in for a bone crushing hug only releasing him when they were reminded of the time crunch.

“Now you be good, okay kiddo?” The sheriff reminded him with a raised eyebrow. Stiles merely grinned. 

“Sure dad.” He promised anyway when they were given a final warning.

“I love you son” 

“Love you too dad” Is the last thing Stiles gets to say before he was led away. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Stiles made it to the airport, the worry began to set in. First, there was the whole flying ordeal to cope with and if that wasn’t bad enough, he was going to be flying with several of the other Selected contestants. With all the other shit he had had to deal with, he hadn’t had time to even look at the pictures of the other contestants, much less learn their names or anything about them. Jesus, he was really unprepared. The second after he had pulled out his phone (to start googling the other contestants of course) an identical black car was pulling up next to the plane. A tall woman with her brown hair wrapped up in a pony tail and rather worried looking guy (who Stiles instantly empathised with) stepped out and instantly headed towards him. Before he could even open his mouth, the female spoke. 

“Hi, I`m Sapphire Holmes and this is Corey Bryant” She introduced. Well, at least Stiles knew who he was flying with. So much for google. 

“And I`m- “

“Stiles, right? Stiles Stilinski. I was wondering, is that your real name?” the girl cut in, causing Stiles to smile. 

“No, it`s not my real name and no one on this earth will ever hear it again” Stiles tells her firmly with his smile still firmly in place which causes the other two contestants to laugh. 

“Stiles it is” Sapphire says with a nod before she turns to look at the car approaching. The guy that steps out has Stiles rushing to meet him. 

“Scotty Boy!” Stiles calls as he rushes forward to embrace him. “Its so good to see you man” Stiles adds as he releases him. 

“Stiles! Aw man I was so excited when your name got called!” Scott says with a bright smile as his eyes flick over to the other contestants. “I had a feeling we would be taken to the same airport” Scott comments and Stiles suddenly feels guilty that he hadn’t even checked who was in the running for Prince Derek`s hand. 

“Yeah, me too buddy” Stiles lies with a grin that matches Scott`s. 

After ten minutes of idle chatter and getting to know Sapphire (who is apparently an up and coming writer) and Corey (who is really talkative once he gets over being shy and trying to stay invisible), the final black car appears. All of them turn to look as non-other than Jackson Whittmore steps out. Theres a pair of designer sunglasses resting on the top of his head and a cocky smile on his face. Unlike Sapphire and Corey, his smile wasn’t meant to be friendly, it was meant to intimidate. Sadly, it worked on poor Corey who immediately dropped his gaze and moved to practically hide behind Sapphire. The girl in question however just glared right back as he approached their little groups. 

“When do we leave?” Jackson asked instantly. 

“We don’t know, you’ve been holding up the show” Stiles answered before anyone else could, trying to keep the peace between the group even if he did cross his arms over his chest. Jackson just smirks after giving them all a once over. 

“Sorry, quiet a few people wanted to see me off. I couldn’t help it.” Jackson says with a grin as if it was obvious that he was meant to be worshipped. Stiles glanced at Sapphire and Scott with a raised eyebrow as if to say; ‘is this guy for real?!’. As if one cue, a man appeared behind them. 

“Are all five of the Selected here?” He asks as he counts them. 

“We sure are” Jackson answers sweetly and the man sort of melts a little. 

“If you`ll follow me please.” 

The flight was only terrifying during take off and landing in Stiles’ opinion. Food, drinks and movies were offered throughout but Stiles chose to start memorising the information about the rest of the contestants whilst chatting to Scott and Sapphire who didn’t seem nearly as nervous about the whole landing business. Thankfully for all of them, Jackson decided to sleep through the whole thing whilst Corey began writing about his adventures. 

“From the moment I met him, he`s been so proper, even if he was a little shy” Sapphire informs them as she glances at Corey. “He`s going to be tough competition.” She mused causing Scott to shake his head. 

“You can’t think about it like that. Yes, were all trying to make it to the end and marry Derek but not by being hostile to everyone else. If you end up with him, you’re going to have to learn to sit and smile to everyone, no matter how much you dislike them.” Scott pointed out. 

“I guess its something to keep in mind, but you have to admit, his shyness is endearing.” Sapphire countered, and Stiles couldn’t help but nod his head in response. 

“Jackson on the other hand” she added, visibly shivering for effect. 

“I know, its only been an hour and I`m already looking forward to him going home.” Stiles tells the other two, giving them both a smile when they hum in agreement. 

“I don’t want to talk badly about anyone but he`s so…aggressive!” Scott comments, looking a little guilty about saying such a thing. 

“Don’t worry, people like that usually take themselves out of the competition.” Sapphire reassured, sending another scowl in Jacksons directions. 

When the plane landed, silence enveloped them until they passed through the terminal, at which point, an eruption of noise was heard from a large crowd of people that were waving and cheering behind barriers that ran alongside a golden carpet that had been rolled out for them. Stiles couldn’t help snorting at the sight, even though he was pretty much frozen to the spot. He had no idea how to cope with such a situation. Luckily, Jackson was at the front and he immediately started waving at his fans. At that moment, Stiles knew that it was the right reaction and quickly followed suit, after all the cameras were there to catch his every move and if he wanted to stay in this competition, he had to make a good impression. 

Stiles turned his head a dozen times in mere seconds as people left and right called out his name. Already there were people who wanted him to win. Only after a few strides, Stiles caught sight of a young girl with bright blond hair that was wearing a cowboy hat and a little star badge that had ‘sheriff’ printed on it in bold letters. In her hands was a sigh that read ‘The Sheriffs Son Rules’ on it that was dotted with hand drawn cowboy hats, starts and there was even a lighthouse drawn on it to symbolise Beacon Hills. Stiles couldn’t help but smile as he made his way over to her, crouching down so that he was at her height before asking for her name. The girl beamed and happily proclaimed that her name was Emily before asking for an autograph (which Stiles happily signed) before he tugged her hat down a little which caused her to laugh. Beside Emily, a teenage boy wanted a photograph and next to him, a middle-aged man wanted to shake his hand and wish him luck. So, Stiles practically went down the entire line, turning every now and again to talk to those on the other side. In the end, Stiles was the last to leave and had subsequently forced the others to wait for him. As he climbed into the car, Jackson rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window, but Stiles didn’t care, especially when Scott grinned at him and Sapphire gave him a thumbs up. He just hoped he had made his dad proud. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The streets leading up to the palace were filled with people shouting well-wishes and congratulations as they watched them pass. If he was being honest with himself, Stiles was feeling a little overwhelmed; he`d never been the popular kid in school, sure he`d played lacrosse but he had only ever been a bench warmer and to suddenly have all this attention? He almost felt like he was being suffocated. Thankfully, Scott and Sapphire where there to make him smile before he could dwell on it. 

“Look dude! Theres another sign with your name on it!” Scott pointed out, his finger pressed up against the window. Stiles couldn’t help but smile back at Scott who hadn’t stopped beaming since they had got into the car and it was all too obvious why; Scott`s name was on many of the signs. It would have been impossible to count how many supporters he currently had. Sapphires name was sprinkled in there along with Corey`s but sadly it was Jackson who was in the top spot with Scott and by the looks of it, the smug bastard knew it. 

“What do you think he did? You know, to become so popular.” Jackson whispered in Stiles’ ear. 

“What?” Stiles asked with a frown, managing for once to keep his voice quiet enough that the others couldn’t hear him. 

“You think he bribed someone?” Jackson continued as he sent a particularly nasty glare in Scott`s direction. 

“Scotty? No, there is no way he could afford it.” Stiles defended as Jackson rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat, clearly done with Stiles now that he had realised that he wasn’t the gossiping type. After all, Scott was a five like him (even if he was working to be a three), theres no way he`d just have that type of money sitting around. 

“Please, there are more ways than money to pay for what you want.” Jackson added before he turned away to look back out the window. It took a moment for Stiles to get what Jackson was alluding too, visibly grimacing at the thought as Harris and his awful suggestion popped into his mind. Stiles shook his head to try and clear away Jacksons words; clearly life at the palace was going to be more vicious than he could have ever imagined. 

Thankfully, his rather alarming train of thought was cut short but Sapphires excited gasp as they reached the palace – not that there was a right lot to look at. All that was currently visible to them was the bright white walls that where painted with the family’s crest; A triskelia. Guards were stationed at even intervals along the top of the gait, guns resting against their shoulders as they surveyed the landscape for any sign of rebels. As the car approached, the gates slowly swung open, revealing a long gravel drive that circled around a rather large fountain which was strategically placed just in front of the steps of the palace. They were just rounding the fountain when Stiles saw them…A large group of officials that were waiting for them. Stiles had only just climbed out of the car when two men grabbed him gently by the arms and ushered him inside with barely more than a hello. 

“Sorry to rush you sir but your group is running late.” The one on his left informed him. 

“Oh…um…I`m afraid that’s my fault. I got a little chatty at the airport.” Stiles apologised, the hint of a blush covering his cheeks. 

“Talking to the crowds?” The other asked in surprise as he exchanged a look with the other official before they started calling out locations as he passed. The dining room was to the right and the great room was to the left, next to the gardens which Stiles couldn’t help but look at wistfully. He had only just finished admiring them before he was pulled into a huge room full of bustling people that were attending to the needs for the other contestants that were seated in front of huge mirrors. A tall, dark haired woman in heels pushed through the hoard of people and made a beeline for him. 

“I`m Silvia, we spoke on the phone.” The woman introduced, pausing only to glance at the mobile held tightly in her hands. 

“First things first, we need a before picture so follow me this way.” She instructed, not letting Stiles get a word in edge ways as she steered him over to the chair that was tucked away in a quiet corner of the room. 

“Don’t mind the cameras, we`re going to be doing a special on your make overs, after all, everyone is going to want to look like you one we`re finished.” Silvia informed him and the rest of his group that had suddenly appeared behind him, he`d clearly been too busy trying to process everything to hear them come up behind him. As soon as the information was out of her mouth, Silvia began barking orders at the people around her. Cameras seemed to pop out of thin air, along with the camera crews who seemed unlike the rest of the population, they didn’t care that they were in the presence of the next prince or princess of the country. The picture taking thankfully went by rather quickly – with Stiles making sure to smile in a way that was (hopefully) similar to when he registered. Although, Lacey had made him laugh before that picture was taken so who knew how this picture was going to turn out? 

“Right. Take Lord Jackson to station five and Lord Corey to three. Wonderful, ten has just finished up. Take Lady Sapphire straight there and Lord Scott to eight. Oh! And take Lord Stiles to six.” Silvia delegated quickly when they had all finished with their ‘before’ picture. 

“So. Lets talk about your image.” A short blond man said to Stiles as he led him away to a chair at what he presumed was station six. As soon as he was sat down, the man who Stiles concluded was his stylised, ran a hand through his rather messy mop of hair. 

“You`re the sheriffs kid right? Mmm we could work with that.” The blond man mused to himself as he continued to mess with Stiles’ hair. 

“Have you ever thought about a buzz cut? You know, military style?” He asked, and Stiles honestly had to think about it for a moment. His hair was always in the way and he could never be bothered to brush it, but did he want to shave it all off? Eventually, he shook his head. 

“Maybe we could just trim it? I`m not up for changing things about me to try and please some guy I don’t know from adam, even if he is the prince.” Stiles said firmly. 

“Oh my! Do we have an individual here?” His stylist asked with a grin. 

“Aren`t we all?” Stiles replied with a small smile of his own which caused the man`s grin to widen. 

“Fine. No changing your image. We`ll simply enhance it. I`ll need to polish you up a bit but your aversion to all things fake might be your greatest assed. You hold on to that honey.” The stylist to him with a pat to his shoulder before he left. In his place was a mixed group of men and women who took it upon themselves to scrub his whole body (because apparently, he couldn’t be trusted to do such a thing himself) before he was coated in various oils and lotions that left him smelling of vanilla; which was apparently one of Derek`s favourite scents. Nails were next and thankfully Stiles didn’t have to spend too long there. They were buffed and trimmed before Stiles was sent back to his chair to wait for the next round of torture which seemed like it was going to be his hair. From the corner of his eye, Stiles caught sight of a rather terrified looking girl who was staring in the direction of her stylist. 

“You okay?” Stiles asked, twirling round in his chair to get a better look at her. The other contestant jumped a little at his words, twisting round quickly so her eyes could meet his. 

“They want me to dye my hair blond because it will match better with my skin tone. I`m just nervous I guess.” She replied with a sigh as she played with a strand of her currently mousy brown hair. 

“You`re Molly, right?” 

“Yeah, and you`re Stiles.” Molly countered with a growing smile. “I heard you came here with Jackson…He`s awful!” 

“You have no idea.” Stiles agreed with a grin as Molly giggled quietly before she was cut off by Jackson who was demanding that they fixed the mess that they had created of his hair. 

“Listen, I like your hair. Don’t change it if you like it too.” Stiles told her after a beat. 

“Thanks” Molly murmured as she turned to once again look at her hair, seemingly trying to decide whether he was being honest or trying to hold her back. Stiles didn’t get the change to reassure her as he was whisked away by yet another stylist who seemed angry that she had turned him back two inches to the left, so he was central in front of the mirror. As soon as he was in position, she began to start on his hair. Stiles had previously thought that he might actually enjoy this part of the makeover, having his hair washed and dried and being pampered in a way that he didn’t think was extreme. He was wrong. Very wrong because his hair had to be shampooed and conditioned. Twice. Before being hydrated and cut. Thankfully, she heeded his earlier request to only have a few inches cut off before it was dried and sprayed with something that smelt of peaches. After styling it loosely, she sent him straight to make up where there was three people waiting for him. It only took a few seconds for Stiles to quickly decide that he didn’t want any form of makeup at all, not matter whether it would make his eyes pop or not. One of the girls (who was clearly in charge of the trio) simply tutted and sent him on his way, muttering about why she had been called in if no one wanted makeup doing. 

Stiles just shook his head and moved toward the rack of clothes with his name on it. Of course, they were all suits. Stiles couldn’t help but sigh as he picked out a simple navy suit with a white shirt. The official that helped him dress (seriously! Was he five?!) called it a day suit and informed him that the rest of his suits were waiting for him in his room. Once he was deemed appropriate, he was sent for his ‘after’ shot. 

Stiles had only been sat down for a few minutes, quietly watching the chaos Jackson and some of the other contestants were causing when a rather stern looking woman came over with a clip board. 

“Tonight, we will air your arrival and on Wednesday there will be the make over special and on Friday you`ll be doing your first report. People have seen your pictures and know a little about what was on your applications but now? Now we really want them to make them root for you, which of course, won’t happen unless they know you. So, we`re going to do a little interview.” She explained with what Stiles thought must be an attempt at a smile. 

“Sure” Stiles responded, not that he really thought he had a choice in the matter. 

“So, Stiles Stilinski” She opened moments after a red light lit up on the camera. “I can see that you haven’t changed much. Can you tell us what happened in your makeover today?” Stiles couldn’t help but smile as he thought back to the disappointment on the faces of his stylists. 

“Well, there wasn’t any makeup involved but they did scrub me from head to toe and leave me smelling like a dessert.” He answered, causing the woman to laugh. 

“It is lovely, and the suit really, well, suits you” She complimented before Stiles looked down at himself for a moment. As soon as he remembered what he was doing, he was quick to look back up at the camera. 

“It’s pretty different from flannels and jeans.” Stiles replied once he had finished his impromptu assessment of himself. 

“It is indeed.” The woman agreed before moving on. “So, Stiles, tell us how you found the experience today.” 

“Surprising.” Stiles said instantly as he recalled meeting Scott at the airport. 

“I`m sure they’ll be more surprising days to come” The interview replied with a smile when Stiles didn’t elaborate any further. “One of the big questions that we all want to know the answer to is: how do you feel about the competition?” She asked eagerly, leaning a little closer to him. Stiles took a moment to reconnect his brain to mouth filter before he answered. 

“Everyone that I`ve met seems really nice.” He settled on, ignoring the one glaring exception that is Jackson Whittmore. The woman nodded, and the camera finally shut off. 

“All right, I think that will be enough.” She murmured, looking back toward the man holding the camera who sloped away without a word. 

“Really? That’s it?” Stiles asked before he could stop himself. The woman merely chuckled in response. 

“We have half an hour to fit in thirty-one of you. That will be plenty.” She assured him. “Thank you for your time Stiles, you can head over there and you`ll be taken care of.” 

Stiles nodded and instantly made his way over to where he`d been directed, carefully counting his fingers on the way over to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. The room once again burst into a flurry of action as Silvia announced that the last batch of contestants were coming in. 

“Hey Stiles! Dude you look amazing!” Scott informed him with a huge grin as he came to sit next to him, clearly finished with his interview. Stiles smiled back as he looked over Scott and boy did he look different. The dark grey suit with white shirt and matching black tie really suited him; Scott looked like he was meant to be royalty. It suited him. 

“Yeah, it`s definitely a step up from my Three Moons uniform.” Stiles replies causing Scott to laugh and clap him on the back. 

“Alright everyone, I`m going to take you to your assigned room.” Silvia calls, seemingly happy to leave the new batch of contestants in the hands of their stylists now that she had given them their orders. Three more contestants join them before Silvia leads their small group of five off, not even glancing back to make sure that her charges were following. As they walk, Stiles’ glances round the group, identifying their new additions; The first is Allison Argent (who looks freaking stunning in her silver dress), Liam Dunbar (the youngest of them all) and Mason Hewitt who looks like he`s about to burst in excitement. 

Silvia explain that the room they were just in is called the Contestants room (which Stiles knows used to be called the Woman`s room but has apparently been changed because Derek clearly likes men as well) before she moves on to the great room and the dining room. Apparently, the latter is worthy of a small tour as Silvia leads them inside, twisting to face them and giving them a once over before informing their small group that this is where they are going to be eating during their stay at the palace. All the contestants would be sat at a U-shaped table whilst the royal family would sit at their table that sat upon a small platform. Alone. Tiny little place markers adorned each seat and Stiles wasted no time in finding out who he would be sat next to: Lydia Martin and Hayden Romero…meal times were certainly going to be interesting. 

After Silvia had deemed that they had spent enough time in the dining room, she strode off with nothing more than a few clipped words, meaning the five of them had to hurry out after her. The rest of the tour consisted of showing them the room where the Relay was broadcasted from, then there was the Queens room where she and the rest of the royal family spent most of their time- which was of course, completely off limits along with the whole of the third floor as it contained the family’s private rooms. 

“Any sort of intrusion will not be tolerated. Your rooms are located on the second floor as you will be inhabiting most of the guest rooms.” Silvia added after a beat, the unsaid ‘so there will be no reason to be anywhere near the third floor’ was presented to them in the form of a stern glare. Once that had been established, they were lead to a large set of glass double doors which was deemed as one of the entrances to the gardens. 

“You`re not to go outside under any circumstances. During select period of the day, there will be times where you will be permitted to enter the gardens. This is merely a safety precaution because try as we might, rebels have gotten on to the grounds before.” Silvia informs them before continuing the tour, giving no time to answer any question that they might have or giving Mason time to recover…he did look a little pale. Stiles looked at the doors with a sense of longing before he followed the stern looking woman around the corner (not even giving them a chance to look at the rather strange portraits that lined the walls) and up a flight of stairs. To the side, there was a long corridor that was littered with more than a few doors. 

“Your things are already in your rooms. If the decor is not to your liking, just let your maids or servants know. Now, before dinner tonight, you will meet in the Competitors room for a special screening of the Relay and next week; you`ll be on the show yourself!” Silvia explained, a small smile appearing on her face for a scant few seconds. 

“Tonight, you will see the footage of you leaving your homes and arriving at the palace. It promises to be something very special. Keep in mind that Prince Derek hasn’t seen anything yet and will be watching along with you and the rest of the country. You`ll official meet him tomorrow.” Silvia told them, her gaze sweeping over the five of them and Stiles was pretty sure she looked at him for a few seconds longer than the others, before she pressed on. 

“All of the selected will be having dinner as a group tonight. That way you`ll be able to get to know one another before the competition begins.” Stiles gulped, there were far too many rules and it was only day one! How the hell was he going to cope?! His mind was racing, he was going to have to interact with the rest of the selected and he`d only met a handful and if the rest of them were anything like Jackson…Oh god. He had his fingers crossed for more Scott`s and Sapphires. 

When Stiles was finally dropped at his room, he wanted nothing more than to collapse on to the wonderfully soft bed that was certainly waiting for him. However, he never got the chance as the second after he had closed the door behind him, there were three curious faces looking in his direction. They wasted no time in introducing themselves as Hunter, Codicus (Cody for sort) and Saeth. Stiles’ eyes widened at their eagerness to serve him but if he was being honest, it was a little overwhelming. After all, he`s been looking after his dad for years and whilst he was working at the weekends, Stiles had spent a lot of time on his own and doing odd bits around the house. It was going to take some time getting used to. 

“It`s been a really busy day of travel and all. I think I`m going to take a nap before dinner.” Stiles tells the group once they’ve stopped talking, hedging at them to leave him alone for a while. His new servants seemed reluctant to leave but with a little more reassurance, they bowed repeatedly (something which he highly discouraged) and promised to wake him for dinner. Once they have finally left, Stiles makes his way over to the wardrobe and pulls open the double door which surely have his clothes behind them. Stiles lets out a gasp as his eyes widen at the sight of the walk-in wardrobe and the amount clothes inside. There are shirts of all colours; from black to grey to blue to red. There had to be a few dozen! Hung on the opposite side of the wardrobe there were suit jackets hung up and in the draws at the back he found sets of pants, socks and ties. He didn’t think he`d ever get through them all, not to mention all the colour combinations even if he was here for a year! 

Stiles then spent the next then minutes gawking at the size of the bathroom; he`d always wanted a walk-in shower and the bath looked more like a small pool. It was definitely different from what he has at home. After staring dreamily at the shower and making a promise to it that he`d come and use it later, he finally flopped on the bed; letting out a groan at how ridiculously soft it was. By the time his three servants had returned, Stiles was actually close to falling asleep but he dragged himself up and watched Saeth pick out a light blue shirt and a black jacket and pants combo, not wasting any time in getting Stiles into them. Wasn’t the suit he was wearing good enough? Apparently not. Cody once again offered him make up (which he quickly declined) as he got his hair styled once more before at long last, he was deemed good enough to go downstairs. 

Silvia arrived dead on six o’clock to take him and his three neighbours: Jennifer, Hayden and Danny, to the Competitors room. Once everyone had arrived and was settled on the cluster of couches and chair that surrounded the TV, Silvia grabbed the remote and switched in on with a flourish. The relay began with Peter discussing budget cuts to fund the war with France and another rebel attack to the east e.c.t. but, the last half an hour was dedicated to their arrival with Braiden`s usual commentary. 

“Here we have Jackson Whittmore saying goodbye to his many fans. It took this lovely young man more than half an hour to break away from the crowd.” Of course, Jackson sat smugly in the centre of the sofa, next to Jennifer who looked kinda scary in her red dress, rather than intimidating which Stiles was sure she was going for. 

“There were a few others from around the country who were just as popular; Corey Bryant`s refined demeanour set him apart from the crowd. And Scott McCall was all bubbles and smiles as he departed today with many of his four-legged patients that he`s treated at the surgery he works at, arriving with their owners to see him off.” Pictures of Scott petting dogs and cuddling a very fluffy rabbit flashed across the screen to punctuate her words. 

“He is an immediate favourite of those we`ve seen today” When Scott looked over with a bright smile and an excited look on his face, the decision was made for Stiles; he was 100% rooting for Scott. 

“Also travelling with the lovely Scott McCall was Stiles Stilinski from Beacon Hill. Upon landing Mr Stilinski became the crowd darling as he stopped to take pictures, sign autographs and simply speak to those who had turned out. It seems that Stiles is not afraid of getting his hands dirty, a quality many believe our next prince or princess needs.” Stiles froze as everyone turned to look at him, many of them glaring at him. In that moment, it all made sense; they didn’t know that he wasn’t in it to win it, all they saw was a threat and it seemed they all wanted him eliminated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do let me know if there are any mistakes :)
> 
> All reviews appreciated!


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